Safety apparatus for submarine vessels



1930. A. B. OBIDZINSKI 1,776,334

SAFETY APPARATUS FOR SUBKARINE VSSSIIJS.

Filed March 20, 1928 3 sheets-$116613 1 o o 000 o INVENTOR we. A; M

Sept. 23, 1930. A. B. OBlDZINSKI SAFETY APPARATUS FOR SUBMARINE VESSBLS Filed Ma rch 20, 19215 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR Segt. 23, I930. A. B. OBIDZINSKI SAig'rY APPARATUS FOR SUBMAR'INE vsisszns Filed March 20, 1928' s Sheets-Skeet 3 45 mYTv/ &\

INVENTOR Patented Sept. 23, 1930 UNIT o :sATE s PATENT mm;

ANTHONY B. OIBIDZINSKI, or PITTSBURGH, PnnnsY vAnIA, ass enon' or 01\TE FOURTH TO JACOB YGOLDSTEIN AND onE-FoURrn'rroJos Pn J.eo1.nsrn11\r, BOTH.

1 or PITTSBURGH, rnNnsYLvAnIA SAFETYVAPPARATUS roa suBMAnInE vEssnLs Application filed March 20, 1928. Serial No. 263,048.

This invention relates to safety apparatus for submarine vessels, more particularly to means for furnishing aid to a submarine crew in distress, as the result of accident.

1 It is among the objects of this invention to provide means positive in its action for signalling the location of a disabled submarine which shall be provided with means for communicating to the crew inside of the 10 disabled vessel.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for effecting connection with the interior of a submarine vessel to enable a rescue party to furnish'sustenance and an adequate supply of freshair to the submarine crew.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for obtaining'the objects set'forth above by the use ofapparatus of simple con- 20 struction which may be designed to function for the purposes stated in a positive and eliicient manner and which shall be manipulated from the interior of the submarine vessel without any possibility of endangering the lives of the crew.

These and other objects will become more apparentifrom a consideration of the accompanying drawings in which like reference charactersdesignate like parts and in which '1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating an embodiment of the invention in its practical form and in accordance with the principles thereof; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a compartment provided in the submarine vessel showing the position of the buoy cable and the communicating tube arranged in a manner to be hereinafter explained. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the compartment with the Referring to the figures of the drawings,

the structure therein illustrated comprises a" submarine 1, a rescuevessel 2, the latter'being moored byananchor 3. The submarine 141s provided-with compartmentsgenerally. desig nated at 4 which are located at some con-. venient and accessible placeonthe submarine hulk, preferably the mid section thereof; where they will produce a minimum interference with the location of machinery and working space on the interiorof .the sub marine.

r The compartment l is more clearly illustrated inconnection with Figs. 2, 3 and 40f the drawings and is formed with its end walls 5 continuous with the hulk 60f the vessel, thus rendering the compartment waterproof. A side wall or cover 7 is hinged at 8 adjacent the lower end of the compartment and is adaptedto open the compartment at the top. The cover 7 is provided with a gear rack 9 of segment shape, the'teethof which co-act-with the thread 10 of a worm. screw which is actuated by theshaft 11 from the interior ofthe submarine vessel through the well known form of hand-wheelliZ or by motive power. The section of the compartment wall through which the shaft 11 projects is preferably provided with enlarged portions 13 and 1.4 to provideasuit-able'bearing surface andalso to :provide for a packing joint mechanism that the outer cover 7 can be opened-to its full extent-regardless of external pressure caused-bythe location of the vessel at any given depth, and it is further evident from the construction that the cover need only be opened slightly depending upon the tiltof the'hulk before the detrimental pres-; sure is exerted into a useful one to aid in opening thecover after the segment has entirely passed from itsengagement with the worm l0.

As is clearly shown in Figs. '2 and '3, a partition member 18 madeto'curve outwardly the interior of the buoy may be provided with r a reflector 26 and a lamp socket 27 for receiving a lamp 28. The lamp socket 27 is provided with an electrical connection 29 which runs through the flexible cable 21. The electric light 28 can be energized from a suitable source of electrical energy such as a battery or dynamo provided for that purpose in the interior of the submarine vessel.

The cable 21 is preferably secured to a projecting hub portionBO of the buoy by means of a lead bushing 31 to assure a secure and unbreakable connection therewith and the buoy .is further provided with a recess 32 normally closed by a screw thread plug33 that can be removed by a wrench or otherwise for the purpose of gaining access to a socket'34 of telephone line 85 which extends through the cable 21 to the' interior of the submarine. The electrical conduits 2935 of the light and telephone respectively are extended through the bottom wall of the compartment 4 as shown inFig. 2.

After the submarine has been located by means of the buoy 19, it is of course necessary and desirable to provide means for supplying the submarine crew with fresh air and food or perhaps medical supplies. This can be effected in the following manner A nipple 37 is disposed through an opening 38 formed in the bottom of the compartment 4 or if preferred, the nipple may be formed integrally with the bottom wall. In the con struction shown in Fig. 3, the nipple 37 is provided with a flange 39 which is secured to the wall of the compartment by a weld 40 around the periphery of the flange. The ends of the nipple are provided with caps 4l--42 which are secured by screw threads 43 or in any other suitable manner to render them water proof and removable. The nipple is utilized by attaching at the upper end a tubular member 45 which consists of suitable lengths of flexible tubing connected by joints generally designated at 46. The tube is lowered from the vessel'2 as shown in Fig. 1 and fastened to the nipple 37 by a diver. WVhen the cap 42 is removed, the cap 41 is retained on the nipple to prevent the flow of water to the interior of the vessel. After the connection has been effected in the proper manner, the submarine crew is notified through the telephone line extending from which comprises a sleeve or shell having end caps 49 and 50 secured thereto as by screw threads 51; The end caps are provided with eyes 52 and hooks 53 whereby a series of such carriers may be joined and passed through the tube simultaneously.v The caps 49 may be employed as drinking cups and both liquid and solid foods may be placed in the carrier.

On account of the stress to which the conduit 45 is subjected by the action of the waves and relative movement of the vessel 2 and submarine 1, it is desirable to form the same of flexible material and to further relieve the conduit of. stress produced in the manner set forth, I provide a plurality of reenforcing members in the form of cable 55 which may be secured to the periphery of the flexible conduit at its joints 46.

For this purpose the joint is constructed in the manner illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 in which the cable 45 is shown as provided with metal bushings 56 and 57, the member 56 having a screw thread 58 and the member 57 having a flange 59 which forms a shoulder for a screw sleeve 60 which is provided with a threaded area adapted to interact with the thread 58 to effect an interlocked joint of the ends of tubes 45. The screw sleeve 60 is preferably provided with slots 61, Fig. 8, adapted to receive the reenforcing cable membars 55 which are disposed above the periphery of the tube and held in place by a ring 63 which is in threaded engagement at 64 with the ring 60. It will be apparent that the sections of the tube 45 can be speedily assembled on board the rescue ship 2 and the reenforcing cable 55 secured thereto by means of the joint shown in Figs. 8 and 9, and that such construction will protectthe tubev against any material strains.

The operation of the apparatus described above is briefly as follows: Normally, the buoy secured to the cable 21 carrying the electric light and telephone lines is disposed in the compartment 4 in the manner illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4; with the outer wall 7 secured to close the compartment, water is excluded from the chamber to prevent deterioration of the mechanism and parts contained therein.

When the submarine becomes disabled through injury by collision or incapacitation of its means of locomotion, the compartment is opened by manipulating the hand wheel 12 from the interior of the submarine to throw back the cover 7 and the buoy 19 is immediately released and rises to the surface as illustrated in Fig. 1. Any surface vessel casually in the vicinity will be attracted by the signal such as the light of the buoy or smoke or reflections, any one of which may be employed, the crew of such vessel can immediately communicate with the crew of the submarine by telephone through the plug contained on the buoy, it being assumed, of

course, that if apparatus of the nature of my invention were adopted for the purpose, that coast vessels would be provided with necessary equipment to effect such communication. By thus establishing connections, the condition of the submarine and its crew can be The present invention does not contemplate any means for rescuing the crew from V a submerged vessel or for salvaging the vessel itself, and is particularly designed as an emergency measure to enable a submarine crew to survive until a rescue can be effected.

Although one embodiment of my invention has been herein illustrated and described,

it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the details of construction without depart ing from the principles herein set forth.

I claim herein as my invention:

1. In a submarine, a compartment having its end walls continuous with the hull of the vessel, and having'its outer wall hinged at the side of the vessel to open at the top edge of the compartment, a buoy mounted in said compartment and adapted to be released by the opening of the said hinged wall, said buoy being permanently anchored to the vessel, a sloping guide provided at the top of said compartment for directing the movement of said'buoy out of said compartment and means operative from within the submarine vesselfor moving said hinged wall to its open position.

2. In a submarine, a compartment having a hinged wall in alinement with the side of the hull, a nipple secured in said compartment and projecting into the interior of the submarine, and a tube adapted to be fastened to the end of the nipple within said compartment, said tube having flexible cable disposed along the longitudinal axis thereof and joined at intervals to the tube to reenforce the same and to relieve it of lateral stresses. v

3. A submarine structure as set forth in claim 2 in which the tube is formed in lengths joined at their ends and in which the flexible cable is fastened to the tube at its connecting joints.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

ANTHONY B. OBIDZINSKI. 

